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Calcutta: Former England captain Tony Greig has been diagnosed with a form of lung cancer and will undergo a biopsy in a few days to determine at what stage the disease is and what the required course of action would be.
“I have had a few scrapes in my life and this is another one,” Greig told an Australian daily. “Vivian (wife) and I are going to put the boxing gloves on and fight this like we’ve never fought anything before.”
Greig, a well-known television commentator as well, was initially diagnosed with bronchitis in May. His condition did not improve and tests following the World Twenty20 revealed that he has a lesion on his right lung. On his return to Australia from the tournament, he had “a lot of fluid” drained from the lung, and further testing revealed he had cancer.
Greig said he was unsure if he will be working over the Australian summer, as commentator, with Channel Nine. “At this stage, the summer is totally up in the air. My priority, 100 per cent, is my family. They will come first.”
Greig played 58 Tests for England and scored 3599 runs at an average of 40.43 apart from taking 141 wickets. Of the 22 one-day Internationals that he played, he could score 269 runs at an average of 16.81 and claimed 19 wickets.
Greig, 66, first became aware he had a problem during Australia’s one-day series against Pakistan in Dubai in August and September, on which he was commentating.
The South African-born Greig is a household name in Australia after defecting to be one of the spearheads of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket in 1977. He has lived in Sydney since the late 1970s and has commentated cricket for Channel Nine for 33 years. Greig is expected to take guidance from Channel Nine boss and close friend David Gyngell.
Tony Greig the latest in recent times
Quite a few cricketers have been afflicted by cancer. In the past year or so alone, there have been three instances with Tony Greig being the latest. First Yuvraj Singh, then Martin Crowe…
Yuvraj Singh
The comeback star underwent three cycles of chemotherapy in the United States for a rare germ cell cancer. He made a successful return to international cricket during the T20s against New Zealand and the World T20 last month. Having scored a double hundred in the Duleep Trophy, he looks
set to make a return to Test cricket. His foundation, YouWeCan, is aiming to create awareness about cancer, its prevention, early detection and fight against the stigma associated with the disease.
Martin Crowe
The former New Zealand captain had been diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system earlier this month. He has blamed illnesses picked up during tours in his 13-year international career for the disease. Crowe said his cancer was “very treatable” and he would battle it with the same determination he displayed during his playing days. “My mindset and fierce focus has kicked in just like it did when approaching a long innings in a Test match,” he said in a statement.
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